Kansas City, est. 1961
Made by hand, since 1961.
Every taper is hand-dipped 25 to 30 times and every pillar is hand-polished with flame. The process has run unabridged since 1961.
As seen in
Our story
Kansas City, a proprietary wax blend, and a process we have never cut short.
Creative Candles was founded in 1961. We've never moved production offshore, never automated the steps that define the candle, and never stopped hand-dipping every taper 25 to 30 times. The process hasn't changed because it's never needed to.
Keith Espelien, ownerNothing about what we do has changed because nothing about what we do needed to change.
The process
Four Pillars of Quality
The Wax
A proprietary blend developed over decades. It behaves differently from commercially available wax, holding color differently and burning differently. The formulation isn't shared because it's not a recipe, it's accumulated knowledge.
The Dip
Every taper is hand-dipped 25 to 30 times, and each pass builds body and surface. There's no faster version that produces the same result.
The Polish
Each pillar is held to an open flame for thirty seconds after forming. That step closes the surface, deepens the color, and produces the matte finish we are known for. No mechanical equivalent exists.
The Standard
The things that make a candle worth buying are the same things that make it hard to produce at scale. We've never tried to resolve that tension, because it's the point.
From our owner
Keith EspelienCreative Candles is an artisan brand with an exceptional history of small-batch production of premium candles. We enjoy taking care of our wonderful customers!
